Unemployment continued its downward trend in 2013

This article uses data from the Current Population Survey to examine the U.S. labor market in 2013. The analysis suggests that the labor market continued to improve gradually during the year. Both the number of unemployed and the unemployment rate fell over the year, with much of the improvement occurring among women. Household survey employment expanded over the year, while the labor force participation rate continued to decline.

The U.S. labor market continued to improve gradually in 2013 as unemployment declined and employment expanded. In the fourth quarter of the year, 10.8 million people were unemployed and the unemployment rate was 7.0 percent, 0.8 percentage point lower than a year earlier. Total civilian employment expanded by 900,000 in 2013, reaching 144.2 million in the fourth quarter of the year. Employment growth, however, was weaker than in the prior 2 years.1 (For a comparison of the employment measures available from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, see the box that follows.) The employment–population ratio showed little definitive change in 2013 on net, ending the year at 58.5 percent in the fourth quarter. In 2013, the civilian labor force—the sum of the employed and the unemployed—dropped to 154.9 million by the fourth quarter, and the labor force participation rate fell by 0.9 percentage point over the year, to 62.8 percent.

This article examines key labor market measures from the CPS in 2013 for various population groups. Among the characteristics covered are age, gender, race and ethnicity, and educational attainment. The article also explores changes in earnings and in the duration of unemployment and reviews the employment situations of veterans, people with a disability, and the foreign born.

Unemployment

Both the number of unemployed people and the unemployment rate for all the major demographic groups dropped in 2013. Over the year, the number of unemployed declined by 1.4 million to 10.8 million in the fourth quarter. The decline in unemployment picked up speed during the year, falling by 129,000 in the first quarter of the year, compared with declines of 316,000, 418,000, and 512,000 in each of the subsequent three quarters. The decline in the unemployment rate also picked up pace during the year, edging downward by 0.1 percentage point in the first quarter, compared with a 0.2 percentage-point decline in each of the second and third quarters and a 0.3 percentage-point decline in the fourth quarter. The rate was 7.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, versus its year-earlier level of 7.8 percent. (See table 1 and figure 1.)

Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by age and selected characteristics, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2012–2013 (levels in thousands)

Note: Race and Hispanic ethnicity totals do not sum to overall total, 16 years and older, because data are not presented for all races and because people of Hispanic ethnicity may be of any race and are also included in the race groups. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

Notes: Shaded regions represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Turning points are quarterly.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

A disproportionately large share of the decline in both the number of unemployed and the unemployment rate in 2013 occurred among adult women, whose jobless rate dropped by 1.0 percentage point to 6.2 percent in the fourth quarter, breaking a 2-year trend in which the over-the-year decline in unemployment had been more concentrated among men. By comparison, the rate for adult men declined by 0.6 percentage point to 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter. While the rate for men generally continued to be higher than that of women—a pattern that has been in place since the rates began to diverge in mid-2008—the gap widened over the year with the larger decline in women’s unemployment. Among teenagers 16 to 19 years of age, the jobless rate remained high in 2013 by historical standards, falling by 2.9 percentage points to 21.0 percent in the fourth quarter.

The CPS and the CES

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) produces two monthly employment series that are independently obtained: the estimate of total nonfarm jobs, derived from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, also called the establishment or payroll survey; and the estimate of total civilian employment, based on the Current Population Survey (CPS), also called the household survey. The two surveys use different definitions of employment, as well as different survey and estimation methods. The CES survey is a survey of employers that provides a measure of the number of payroll jobs in nonfarm industries. The CPS is a survey of households that provides a measure of employed people ages 16 years and older in the civilian noninstitutional population. Employment estimates from the CPS give information about workers in both the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors and in all types of work arrangements: workers with wage and salary jobs (including employment in a private household), those who are self-employed, and those doing unpaid work for at least 15 hours a week in a business or farm operated by a family member. CES payroll employment estimates are restricted to nonagricultural wage and salary jobs and exclude private household workers. As a result, employment estimates from the CPS are higher than those from the CES survey. In the CPS, however, employed people are counted only once, regardless of whether they hold more than one job during the survey reference period. By contrast, because the CES survey counts the number of jobs rather than the number of people, each nonfarm job is counted once, even when the same person holds two or more jobs.

The reference periods for the surveys also differ. In the CPS, the reference period is generally the calendar week that includes the 12th day of the month. In the CES survey, employers report the number of workers on their payrolls for the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. Because pay periods vary in length among employers and may be longer than 1 week, the CES employment estimates can reflect longer reference periods.

For purposes of comparison, however, CPS employment estimates can be adjusted to make them more similar in definitional scope to CES employment figures. BLS routinely adjusts these estimates to evaluate how the two employment series are tracking. The long-term trends in the employment measures of the two surveys are quite comparable. Nonetheless, throughout the history of the surveys, periods have occurred when the short-term trends diverged or when growth in one series significantly outpaced growth in the other. For example, following the end of the 2001 recession, CPS employment began to trend upward while CES employment continued to decline for a number of months.

BLS publishes a monthly report with the latest trends and comparisons of employment as measured by the CES survey and the CPS. (See “Employment from the BLS household and payroll surveys: summary of recent trends” [Bureau of Labor Statistics], on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/ces_cps_trends.pdf.) This report includes a summary of possible causes of differences in the surveys’ employment trends, as well as links to additional research on the topic.

Notes: Shaded regions represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Turning points are quarterly. People of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race. Data for Asians (not seasonally adjusted) are not available before 2000.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Unemployment rates for the major race and ethnicity groups declined in 2013.2 The unemployment rate for Blacks fell by 1.4 percentage points to 12.4 percent in the fourth quarter, yet their rate remained in double digits for the sixth consecutive year since their prerecession low of 8.1 percent in the first quarter of 2007.3 (See figure 2.) In comparison, the unemployment rates for Hispanics and Whites fell by 1.1 percentage points and 0.8 percentage point, respectively, to 8.7 percent and 6.1 percent in the fourth quarter. The unemployment rate for Asians (not seasonally adjusted) declined by 1.0 percentage point to 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter of the year.

The unemployment rate also declined for people across all levels of educational attainment in 2013. (See table 2 and figure 3.) Workers with less education continued to experience a substantially higher unemployment rate than did better educated members of the labor force. Among workers 25 years and older, the jobless rate of people with less than a high school diploma dropped by 1.5 percentage points to 10.4 percent in the fourth quarter, yet their rate remained in double digits for the sixth year in a row. The unemployment rate for high school graduates fell 1.0 percentage point over the year to 7.2 percent, while the rate for those with some college declined by 0.4 percentage point to 6.3 percent. The jobless rate for those with at least a bachelor’s degree fell 0.3 percentage point to 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter.

Figure 3. Unemployment rate for people 25 years and older, by educational attainment, seasonally adjusted, in fourth quarter of 2012 and fourth quarter of 2013

Educational attainment

2012

2013

Total, 25 years and older

6.5

5.8

Less than a high school diploma

11.9

10.4

High school graduate, no college

8.2

7.2

Some college or associate’s degree

6.7

6.3

Bachelor’s degree and higher

3.8

3.5

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Jobless rates continued to decline in 2013 for all five of the major occupational categories. The rate continued to be lowest in the management, professional, and related occupational group, falling by 0.7 percentage point over the year to 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter. The jobless rate for sales and office occupations fell 0.3 percentage point to 6.8 percent, compared with a 1.1 percentage point decline in the rate for those in service occupations (7.8 percent). Unemployment rates continued to be higher in 2013 for those employed in production, transportation, and material moving occupations and in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations. The jobless rate for the production-related occupational group dropped by 0.7 percentage point to 8.4 percent, compared with a 1.8 percentage-point decline in the natural resources-related occupational group, to 9.0 percent.4 (See table 3.)

Note: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Despite some relief in 2013, the proportion of people unemployed for long periods remained high 4 1/2 years after the end of the 2007–2009 recession. The number of long-term unemployed (those who were jobless for 27 weeks or longer) fell by 863,000 over the year, to 4 million.5 This group made up 37 percent of the unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from 40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. (See table 4 and figure 4.)

Figure 4. Long-term unemployed as a percentage of total unemployed, quarterly averages, 1994–2013

Year and quarter

27 weeks or longer

52 weeks or longer

99 weeks or longer

1994 Q1

20.7

12.4

4.0

1994 Q2

20.9

12.8

4.5

1994 Q3

19.7

12.3

4.4

1994 Q4

19.8

11.3

3.7

1995 Q1

18.1

10.2

3.5

1995 Q2

17.7

10.0

3.5

1995 Q3

16.6

9.1

3.3

1995 Q4

16.5

9.6

3.0

1996 Q1

16.9

9.1

3.3

1996 Q2

18.6

10.0

3.5

1996 Q3

18.0

9.8

3.5

1996 Q4

16.2

9.0

3.3

1997 Q1

15.8

8.3

2.8

1997 Q2

15.9

8.4

2.3

1997 Q3

16.2

8.9

3.3

1997 Q4

15.4

9.6

3.3

1998 Q1

15.0

8.1

3.2

1998 Q2

13.7

7.9

3.2

1998 Q3

13.7

7.6

2.6

1998 Q4

13.8

8.4

2.9

1999 Q1

12.5

6.8

2.0

1999 Q2

12.5

7.1

2.4

1999 Q3

12.2

6.7

2.4

1999 Q4

12.1

6.6

2.4

2000 Q1

11.5

6.2

2.1

2000 Q2

11.0

5.4

2.2

2000 Q3

12.0

6.4

2.2

2000 Q4

11.1

5.9

2.1

2001 Q1

11.4

6.4

1.6

2001 Q2

10.7

5.6

1.6

2001 Q3

11.5

5.8

1.7

2001 Q4

13.1

6.4

2.1

2002 Q1

15.1

6.5

1.8

2002 Q2

18.4

8.3

2.2

2002 Q3

19.0

8.7

2.0

2002 Q4

20.8

10.7

2.7

2003 Q1

21.1

10.7

2.7

2003 Q2

22.1

12.4

3.6

2003 Q3

22.2

11.7

3.2

2003 Q4

22.9

12.6

3.4

2004 Q1

23.1

11.8

4.0

2004 Q2

22.2

13.6

4.6

2004 Q3

20.8

12.2

3.9

2004 Q4

21.2

13.2

4.6

2005 Q1

21.1

12.3

4.5

2005 Q2

19.9

12.2

4.5

2005 Q3

18.9

11.1

4.0

2005 Q4

18.5

11.3

3.8

2006 Q1

18.0

10.0

3.3

2006 Q2

18.0

10.1

3.0

2006 Q3

18.2

10.2

3.9

2006 Q4

16.2

9.7

3.1

2007 Q1

17.6

10.0

3.2

2007 Q2

16.8

9.6

3.3

2007 Q3

17.8

9.9

3.3

2007 Q4

18.0

10.5

3.1

2008 Q1

17.7

9.5

2.9

2008 Q2

18.1

9.8

2.8

2008 Q3

20.0

10.2

3.0

2008 Q4

22.2

12.7

3.5

2009 Q1

23.4

11.8

3.5

2009 Q2

27.7

14.2

3.8

2009 Q3

35.0

16.9

4.5

2009 Q4

38.7

21.8

5.8

2010 Q1

41.9

24.7

6.5

2010 Q2

45.0

30.9

9.5

2010 Q3

43.2

29.8

9.6

2010 Q4

43.2

31.0

10.7

2011 Q1

44.1

30.4

12.6

2011 Q2

44.0

31.9

14.3

2011 Q3

44.3

31.8

14.5

2011 Q4

42.9

31.4

15.1

2012 Q1

42.2

29.5

14.4

2012 Q2

41.8

30.1

14.7

2012 Q3

40.4

28.3

14.3

2012 Q4

40.0

29.2

14.7

2013 Q1

38.9

25.4

12.0

2013 Q2

37.2

26.5

12.9

2013 Q3

37.4

25.7

12.5

2013 Q4

37.0

26.2

12.8

Notes: Data for 27 weeks or longer are seasonally adjusted. Data for 52 weeks or longer and 99 weeks or longer are not seasonally adjusted. Shaded regions represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Turning points are quarterly.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

The number of people unemployed for a year or longer declined by 703,000 (not seasonally adjusted) in 2013, to 2.7 million in the fourth quarter. Their share of the unemployed was 26.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from 2012 but still very high by historical standards.6 The number of people who were jobless for 99 weeks or longer (1.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, not seasonally adjusted) declined by 380,000 over the year. Despite this decline, 1 in 8 unemployed people had been jobless for about 2 years or longer at the end of 2013.

The number of people unemployed because they lost their jobs fell for the fourth consecutive year. The number of unemployed job losers declined by 720,000 to 5.8 million in the fourth quarter. Job losers are divided into two categories: people on temporary layoff who expect to be recalled to their jobs and those not on temporary layoff. People in the latter category, who do not expect to be recalled, are further categorized as either permanent job losers or people who have completed temporary jobs. A decline in permanent job losers accounted for the decline in the total number of unemployed job losers in 2013. (See table 4 and figure 5.)

Notes: Shaded regions represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Turning points are quarterly.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

After remaining about unchanged for the prior 2 years, the number of unemployed reentrants to the labor force fell by 356,000 from the fourth quarter of 2012 to 3.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. (Reentrants are those who had been in the labor force previously, had spent time out of the labor force, and were actively seeking work once again). Reentrants accounted for more than one-quarter of the unemployed at the end of 2013. Both the number of unemployed job leavers (people who voluntarily left their jobs) and the number of new entrants to unemployment also declined in 2013, following little movement in the prior year.

The decline in the level of joblessness in 2013 is also reflected in the labor force status flow data. These data capture the underlying changes in the labor force as people change their labor force status between being employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force. Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports on the number of people employed, unemployed, and not in the labor force as measured by the CPS. A great deal of underlying movement, however, contributes to the relatively small over-the-month net changes that typically occur among these labor force statuses. These gross movements are captured by the labor force status flow data, which show that millions of people move between employment and unemployment each month, while millions of others leave or enter the labor force.7 In 2013, 17.0 million people, or 6.9 percent of the population, changed their labor force status in an average month.

Figure 6. Percentage of the unemployed who found employment, remained unemployed, or left the labor force, 3-month moving average, seasonally adjusted, April 1990–December 2013

Month and year

Left the labor force

Found employment

Remained unemployed

Apr 90

29.6

21.1

49.3

May 90

28.4

20.8

50.7

Jun 90

28.2

20.4

51.4

Jul 90

28.3

20.4

51.3

Aug 90

28.2

20.4

51.4

Sep 90

26.7

19.9

53.4

Oct 90

26.7

19.3

54.0

Nov 90

26.2

19.3

54.5

Dec 90

26.4

19.3

54.3

Jan 91

25.7

19.6

54.7

Feb 91

25.4

19.4

55.1

Mar 91

25.4

19.1

55.5

Apr 91

26.0

18.2

55.7

May 91

25.3

18.3

56.4

Jun 91

25.3

18.3

56.4

Jul 91

24.1

18.9

57.0

Aug 91

24.6

18.8

56.6

Sep 91

24.9

18.7

56.4

Oct 91

25.0

18.8

56.2

Nov 91

24.7

18.5

56.8

Dec 91

23.3

18.7

58.0

Jan 92

24.0

18.1

57.8

Feb 92

23.4

17.6

59.0

Mar 92

23.6

17.1

59.3

Apr 92

22.5

17.4

60.1

May 92

22.8

17.6

59.6

Jun 92

22.9

17.5

59.6

Jul 92

22.9

17.5

59.6

Aug 92

22.6

17.5

59.8

Sep 92

22.7

18.1

59.2

Oct 92

22.8

18.5

58.8

Nov 92

23.3

18.4

58.3

Dec 92

23.5

18.5

57.9

Jan 93

23.4

18.1

58.4

Feb 93

23.0

19.0

58.0

Mar 93

23.0

19.0

58.0

Apr 93

23.3

19.0

57.7

May 93

23.9

18.0

58.1

Jun 93

23.7

17.4

58.9

Jul 93

24.0

17.7

58.3

Aug 93

23.8

18.4

57.8

Sep 93

23.8

19.1

57.1

Oct 93

23.7

19.1

57.3

Nov 93

24.0

19.2

56.8

Dec 93

25.0

19.2

55.8

Jan 94

25.4

19.5

55.0

Feb 94

25.7

20.0

54.3

Mar 94

25.6

20.8

53.5

Apr 94

25.7

21.8

52.5

May 94

26.2

22.5

51.3

Jun 94

26.2

23.3

50.4

Jul 94

26.6

23.5

49.8

Aug 94

26.9

23.4

49.7

Sep 94

27.4

22.6

50.0

Oct 94

27.1

22.3

50.6

Nov 94

27.0

22.8

50.2

Dec 94

28.0

23.1

48.9

Jan 95

28.8

23.4

47.7

Feb 95

29.0

23.1

47.8

Mar 95

28.4

22.7

48.9

Apr 95

28.3

22.1

49.6

May 95

27.7

22.5

49.8

Jun 95

27.5

22.8

49.7

Jul 95

27.4

23.1

49.5

Aug 95

28.2

22.6

49.2

Sep 95

28.1

22.9

49.0

Oct 95

28.5

23.5

48.0

Nov 95

27.8

23.7

48.5

Dec 95

27.1

23.5

49.4

Jan 96

26.6

23.0

50.4

Feb 96

26.8

23.1

50.1

Mar 96

27.4

23.1

49.5

Apr 96

27.3

23.0

49.7

May 96

27.1

23.1

49.8

Jun 96

27.1

23.6

49.3

Jul 96

27.5

23.7

48.8

Aug 96

28.2

23.4

48.4

Sep 96

28.6

23.0

48.3

Oct 96

28.9

22.5

48.5

Nov 96

28.5

22.6

48.9

Dec 96

27.8

22.0

50.1

Jan 97

28.2

22.6

49.2

Feb 97

28.6

22.4

49.0

Mar 97

29.4

22.4

48.2

Apr 97

28.7

22.7

48.6

May 97

29.0

22.9

48.1

Jun 97

29.3

23.3

47.4

Jul 97

30.2

23.0

46.8

Aug 97

29.3

23.6

47.0

Sep 97

28.6

23.7

47.7

Oct 97

28.1

24.1

47.8

Nov 97

28.9

23.5

47.6

Dec 97

30.1

23.6

46.3

Jan 98

30.1

23.6

46.3

Feb 98

30.5

24.2

45.2

Mar 98

29.9

24.8

45.3

Apr 98

30.8

25.0

44.1

May 98

30.5

24.6

44.8

Jun 98

31.0

23.6

45.4

Jul 98

30.4

23.3

46.3

Aug 98

30.9

23.0

46.1

Sep 98

30.9

23.5

45.6

Oct 98

31.0

23.6

45.4

Nov 98

30.9

24.3

44.8

Dec 98

30.7

25.1

44.2

Jan 99

30.9

25.3

43.8

Feb 99

31.0

24.9

44.0

Mar 99

31.9

24.3

43.8

Apr 99

31.2

24.3

44.4

May 99

31.1

24.8

44.1

Jun 99

30.4

24.4

45.2

Jul 99

31.2

23.7

45.1

Aug 99

31.6

23.0

45.4

Sep 99

31.8

22.8

45.4

Oct 99

31.7

23.4

44.8

Nov 99

32.5

23.7

43.8

Dec 99

33.1

24.5

42.4

Jan 00

34.7

23.7

41.6

Feb 00

33.6

23.7

42.7

Mar 00

33.0

23.8

43.2

Apr 00

32.5

24.5

43.0

May 00

32.2

24.8

43.0

Jun 00

32.1

25.1

42.7

Jul 00

32.0

24.6

43.4

Aug 00

32.5

24.5

43.0

Sep 00

32.4

24.4

43.2

Oct 00

32.5

24.3

43.2

Nov 00

32.1

23.6

44.2

Dec 00

31.5

22.7

45.8

Jan 01

30.9

22.6

46.5

Feb 01

30.7

23.1

46.2

Mar 01

31.0

23.5

45.4

Apr 01

30.6

24.4

45.0

May 01

31.3

24.2

44.5

Jun 01

31.1

23.8

45.0

Jul 01

31.1

22.9

45.9

Aug 01

30.0

22.5

47.5

Sep 01

29.4

22.2

48.4

Oct 01

28.4

22.0

49.6

Nov 01

27.9

21.6

50.5

Dec 01

27.0

21.3

51.7

Jan 02

26.5

21.3

52.2

Feb 02

26.8

20.8

52.4

Mar 02

26.9

20.5

52.5

Apr 02

26.8

19.9

53.3

May 02

25.5

20.4

54.1

Jun 02

24.6

20.8

54.7

Jul 02

24.2

22.0

53.8

Aug 02

24.6

21.7

53.6

Sep 02

25.4

21.5

53.0

Oct 02

25.7

20.9

53.4

Nov 02

24.8

21.4

53.8

Dec 02

23.8

21.4

54.7

Jan 03

24.0

21.9

54.1

Feb 03

23.8

21.7

54.5

Mar 03

23.8

22.5

53.7

Apr 03

23.5

21.7

54.7

May 03

23.5

21.8

54.6

Jun 03

23.7

20.9

55.4

Jul 03

23.2

21.2

55.6

Aug 03

23.4

21.5

55.1

Sep 03

23.2

21.8

54.9

Oct 03

23.3

22.1

54.6

Nov 03

23.5

21.7

54.8

Dec 03

24.5

21.9

53.6

Jan 04

25.1

21.1

53.8

Feb 04

24.9

21.8

53.2

Mar 04

24.0

22.0

53.9

Apr 04

24.2

22.8

53.0

May 04

24.8

22.2

53.0

Jun 04

25.2

21.9

52.9

Jul 04

25.4

21.9

52.6

Aug 04

25.1

22.8

52.1

Sep 04

25.7

23.4

50.9

Oct 04

26.1

23.3

50.7

Nov 04

26.8

22.5

50.6

Dec 04

26.6

22.2

51.1

Jan 05

26.2

22.2

51.6

Feb 05

26.1

21.9

52.0

Mar 05

26.0

22.1

51.9

Apr 05

26.3

22.2

51.5

May 05

26.1

22.9

51.0

Jun 05

26.1

23.0

50.8

Jul 05

25.8

23.7

50.5

Aug 05

26.8

23.7

49.5

Sep 05

26.6

23.9

49.6

Oct 05

26.6

23.8

49.6

Nov 05

26.2

23.8

50.0

Dec 05

26.5

24.5

49.0

Jan 06

27.1

24.7

48.1

Feb 06

26.6

25.0

48.4

Mar 06

27.0

24.2

48.7

Apr 06

27.0

24.2

48.8

May 06

27.7

24.4

47.8

Jun 06

28.3

24.6

47.0

Jul 06

28.6

24.6

46.8

Aug 06

28.9

24.5

46.6

Sep 06

29.0

24.1

46.8

Oct 06

28.6

24.4

46.9

Nov 06

28.5

23.8

47.7

Dec 06

28.8

23.6

47.6

Jan 07

29.2

22.7

48.0

Feb 07

29.6

23.5

46.8

Mar 07

29.6

23.6

46.8

Apr 07

29.2

23.5

47.3

May 07

28.9

22.9

48.2

Jun 07

27.4

22.9

49.6

Jul 07

27.4

23.0

49.6

Aug 07

26.9

22.8

50.2

Sep 07

27.3

22.6

50.1

Oct 07

27.1

22.6

50.3

Nov 07

26.9

23.0

50.1

Dec 07

26.9

22.3

50.8

Jan 08

26.9

21.5

51.5

Feb 08

26.4

21.9

51.6

Mar 08

26.3

22.6

51.0

Apr 08

26.4

23.9

49.7

May 08

26.2

23.0

50.8

Jun 08

25.3

22.6

52.1

Jul 08

24.3

21.2

54.5

Aug 08

23.8

21.1

55.1

Sep 08

23.9

21.3

54.8

Oct 08

23.4

21.6

55.0

Nov 08

22.5

21.3

56.2

Dec 08

21.0

21.0

58.0

Jan 09

20.1

20.6

59.2

Feb 09

19.5

20.0

60.4

Mar 09

18.6

19.4

61.9

Apr 09

18.2

18.8

62.9

May 09

17.3

18.7

64.0

Jun 09

17.6

18.2

64.2

Jul 09

17.3

18.4

64.3

Aug 09

17.3

18.7

63.9

Sep 09

17.1

18.8

64.0

Oct 09

16.4

18.7

64.9

Nov 09

16.6

18.2

65.2

Dec 09

15.9

18.6

65.4

Jan 10

16.4

18.8

64.8

Feb 10

16.2

18.9

64.8

Mar 10

16.8

18.7

64.4

Apr 10

17.3

18.4

64.3

May 10

17.6

18.9

63.5

Jun 10

17.2

19.4

63.4

Jul 10

16.9

20.0

63.1

Aug 10

16.7

20.0

63.3

Sep 10

16.8

19.8

63.4

Oct 10

16.6

19.8

63.5

Nov 10

16.6

19.7

63.7

Dec 10

17.0

19.9

63.1

Jan 11

16.9

20.5

62.5

Feb 11

16.8

21.0

62.2

Mar 11

16.7

20.7

62.5

Apr 11

16.6

20.5

62.9

May 11

16.8

20.4

62.7

Jun 11

16.9

20.5

62.6

Jul 11

17.1

20.6

62.3

Aug 11

17.2

20.3

62.5

Sep 11

17.2

20.8

62.0

Oct 11

17.5

20.2

62.3

Nov 11

17.8

20.3

61.8

Dec 11

18.3

19.9

61.8

Jan 12

18.5

20.8

60.7

Feb 12

18.5

21.0

60.5

Mar 12

18.3

21.3

60.3

Apr 12

18.1

21.0

60.8

May 12

18.1

21.2

60.7

Jun 12

17.8

21.1

61.0

Jul 12

17.9

21.2

60.9

Aug 12

17.8

21.7

60.5

Sep 12

18.3

22.1

59.6

Oct 12

18.7

22.5

58.8

Nov 12

18.7

22.7

58.5

Dec 12

18.3

22.7

59.0

Jan 13

18.2

22.2

59.7

Feb 13

18.4

21.8

59.8

Mar 13

18.4

21.9

59.7

Apr 13

18.6

21.9

59.5

May 13

18.8

21.4

59.7

Jun 13

19.4

20.9

59.7

Jul 13

19.6

21.4

58.9

Aug 13

19.6

22.1

58.3

Sep 13

19.3

22.2

58.4

Oct 13

18.7

22.7

58.6

Nov 13

18.7

22.3

59.1

Dec 13

19.2

22.9

57.9

Note: Shaded regions represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

One can better understand the unemployment level in 2013 by examining the current status (employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force) of people who were unemployed in the previous month. Figure 6 shows the proportions of unemployed people who found employment, remained unemployed, or left the labor force over the month. Historically, these data indicate that people are more likely to remain unemployed from one month to the next than to either find employment or leave the labor force. As evident in the figure, this pattern became more pronounced during the 2007–2009 recession and has continued throughout the current recovery. The share of unemployed people who quit looking and left the labor force was 22.9 percent in December 2013 (calculated as a 3-month moving average), compared with 22.7 percent a year ago. The likelihood of unemployed people finding employment, at 19.2 percent in December, was up 0.9 percentage point over the year, while those who remained unemployed was down 1.1 percentage point. The likelihood of the unemployed finding a job, remaining unemployed, or leaving the labor force all showed movement toward their prerecession levels.

Employment

Employment rose in 2013, but the pace of growth was slower than that of the prior 2 years. As measured in the CPS, or household survey, civilian employment reached 144.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. The number of employed people rose by 900,000 in 2013, less than one-half of the employment gains added in each of the prior 2 years after population controls were considered.8 For the second consecutive year, adult women saw a larger gain in employment than adult men, accounting for about 60 percent of the over-the-year growth in employment in 2013. Employment among teenagers remained essentially unchanged for the fourth consecutive year. (See table 1.)

Employment growth in 2013 was concentrated among Hispanics. The number of employed Hispanics rose by 620,000 to 22.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.9 This over-the-year rise in employment among Hispanics made up more than half of the overall employment increase, much larger than their share of total employment (16 percent in the fourth quarter). Employment among Blacks rose by 207,000 over the year to 16.2 million, while the number of employed Whites changed little, at 115.3 million in the fourth quarter. The number of employed Asians also rose by 370,000 over the year, to 8.2 million in the fourth quarter (not seasonally adjusted).

Notes: Shaded regions represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Turning points are quarterly.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

The employment–population ratio for all people ages 16 and older showed little change on net over the year. The employment–population ratio is the proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older that is employed. The ratio fell by 4.4 percentage points from 2007 to 2009 and has shown little definitive movement for the past 4 years. (See figure 7.) The employment–population ratio for adult men fell by 0.5 percentage point over the year, to 67.2 percent, while the ratio for adult women changed little, at 54.9 percent in the fourth quarter. (See table 1.) Although the gap between the ratios for men and women has narrowed significantly over the past four decades, the employment–population ratio for adult men was about 12 percentage points higher than that of adult women in 2013. The employment–population ratio among teenagers was little changed over the year, at 26.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013.

During 2013, the employment–population ratio for Hispanics edged up to 60.1 percent, while the ratios for Whites (59.2 percent), Blacks (53.0 percent), and Asians (61.0 percent, not seasonally adjusted) showed little change.

The number of workers holding more than one job, 6.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, has changed little over the past 2 years. The percentage of the employed that were multiple jobholders, however, edged down to 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter.

The total number of self-employed workers, including both those whose businesses were incorporated and those whose businesses were not, changed little in 2013. In the fourth quarter of 2013, 14.6 million (not seasonally adjusted) were self-employed. The self-employment rate—the proportion of total employment made up of the self-employed—edged down from the prior year, at 10.1 percent in the fourth quarter. Of all self-employed people, 9.3 million, or nearly two-thirds, had unincorporated businesses, while the remaining 5.4 million had incorporated businesses.

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons declined slightly in 2013. Also referred to as involuntary part-time employment, this measure of underemployment ended the fourth quarter 271,000 lower than its year-earlier level.10 Even with the decline in 2013, the number of people employed part time for economic reasons remained quite high by historical standards. Slack work or unfavorable business conditions, rather than an inability to find full-time work, typically has been the primary reason for working part time involuntarily. The inability to find full-time work has trended up since the end of the most recent downturn in June 2009, while working part-time because of slack work has declined. (See figure 8.)

Figure 8. Number of people employed part time for economic reasons, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1969–2013

Year and quarter

Total working part time for economic reasons

Working part time because of slack work

Could find only part-time work

1969 Q1

1,970

963

686

1969 Q2

2,001

989

676

1969 Q3

2,112

1,048

728

1969 Q4

2,124

1,074

668

1970 Q1

2,201

1,187

689

1970 Q2

2,490

1,295

785

1970 Q3

2,452

1,302

815

1970 Q4

2,651

1,423

908

1971 Q1

2,745

1,472

916

1971 Q2

2,652

1,391

929

1971 Q3

2,671

1,366

981

1971 Q4

2,717

1,402

999

1972 Q1

2,630

1,307

996

1972 Q2

2,699

1,303

1,064

1972 Q3

2,769

1,279

1,093

1972 Q4

2,445

1,098

1,006

1973 Q1

2,311

1,084

922

1973 Q2

2,491

1,160

938

1973 Q3

2,652

1,289

937

1973 Q4

2,729

1,348

951

1974 Q1

2,810

1,383

975

1974 Q2

2,762

1,319

1,069

1974 Q3

2,999

1,492

1,105

1974 Q4

3,418

1,883

1,146

1975 Q1

4,071

2,397

1,281

1975 Q2

3,975

2,280

1,359

1975 Q3

3,628

1,902

1,387

1975 Q4

3,566

1,846

1,398

1976 Q1

3,606

1,780

1,455

1976 Q2

3,516

1,719

1,411

1976 Q3

3,570

1,699

1,484

1976 Q4

3,759

1,822

1,618

1977 Q1

3,686

1,678

1,637

1977 Q2

3,537

1,628

1,509

1977 Q3

3,635

1,681

1,556

1977 Q4

3,552

1,585

1,590

1978 Q1

3,451

1,527

1,539

1978 Q2

3,597

1,541

1,605

1978 Q3

3,577

1,609

1,515

1978 Q4

3,416

1,512

1,496

1979 Q1

3,477

1,561

1,523

1979 Q2

3,589

1,617

1,509

1979 Q3

3,559

1,645

1,460

1979 Q4

3,670

1,802

1,449

1980 Q1

3,744

1,887

1,448

1980 Q2

4,472

2,521

1,585

1980 Q3

4,550

2,451

1,757

1980 Q4

4,484

2,306

1,801

1981 Q1

4,531

2,328

1,847

1981 Q2

4,463

2,302

1,846

1981 Q3

4,749

2,352

2,002

1981 Q4

5,357

2,792

2,184

1982 Q1

5,581

2,907

2,348

1982 Q2

6,053

3,324

2,448

1982 Q3

6,337

3,383

2,684

1982 Q4

6,739

3,484

2,916

1983 Q1

6,584

3,155

3,098

1983 Q2

6,256

2,836

3,114

1983 Q3

6,209

2,746

3,072

1983 Q4

6,011

2,556

3,149

1984 Q1

5,834

2,457

3,070

1984 Q2

5,737

2,315

3,044

1984 Q3

5,687

2,393

2,872

1984 Q4

5,711

2,545

2,838

1985 Q1

5,540

2,422

2,787

1985 Q2

5,692

2,573

2,777

1985 Q3

5,645

2,443

2,837

1985 Q4

5,488

2,300

2,879

1986 Q1

5,451

2,333

2,824

1986 Q2

5,787

2,573

2,862

1986 Q3

5,517

2,455

2,737

1986 Q4

5,631

2,486

2,799

1987 Q1

5,496

2,424

2,723

1987 Q2

5,326

2,334

2,660

1987 Q3

5,379

2,389

2,650

1987 Q4

5,420

2,391

2,671

1988 Q1

5,297

2,394

2,566

1988 Q2

5,116

2,284

2,462

1988 Q3

5,268

2,360

2,502

1988 Q4

5,136

2,363

2,401

1989 Q1

4,943

2,268

2,317

1989 Q2

4,971

2,319

2,342

1989 Q3

4,879

2,325

2,170

1989 Q4

4,787

2,325

2,109

1990 Q1

4,840

2,373

2,167

1990 Q2

5,098

2,476

2,244

1990 Q3

5,335

2,658

2,295

1990 Q4

5,555

2,865

2,343

1991 Q1

5,833

3,157

2,363

1991 Q2

6,140

3,246

2,551

1991 Q3

6,256

3,268

2,685

1991 Q4

6,445

3,366

2,753

1992 Q1

6,558

3,305

2,973

1992 Q2

6,501

3,296

2,840

1992 Q3

6,468

3,295

2,902

1992 Q4

6,554

3,244

3,034

1993 Q1

6,380

3,157

2,944

1993 Q2

6,588

3,268

2,936

1993 Q3

6,652

3,223

3,106

1993 Q4

6,306

3,163

2,918

1994 Q1

4,838

2,461

2,070

1994 Q2

4,801

2,463

1,983

1994 Q3

4,399

2,401

1,691

1994 Q4

4,460

2,409

1,754

1995 Q1

4,466

2,400

1,775

1995 Q2

4,477

2,430

1,730

1995 Q3

4,510

2,524

1,681

1995 Q4

4,462

2,556

1,618

1996 Q1

4,290

2,417

1,566

1996 Q2

4,368

2,375

1,636

1996 Q3

4,377

2,501

1,581

1996 Q4

4,254

2,267

1,651

1997 Q1

4,181

2,354

1,513

1997 Q2

4,142

2,347

1,466

1997 Q3

4,031

2,201

1,506

1997 Q4

3,928

2,235

1,392

1998 Q1

3,882

2,177

1,392

1998 Q2

3,756

2,137

1,288

1998 Q3

3,594

2,092

1,199

1998 Q4

3,397

1,951

1,148

1999 Q1

3,475

2,025

1,140

1999 Q2

3,416

1,995

1,090

1999 Q3

3,305

1,930

1,076

1999 Q4

3,220

1,909

1,007

2000 Q1

3,202

1,883

1,001

2000 Q2

3,226

1,920

1,000

2000 Q3

3,191

2,003

886

2000 Q4

3,296

2,030

906

2001 Q1

3,303

2,044

925

2001 Q2

3,507

2,256

961

2001 Q3

3,723

2,405

1,006

2001 Q4

4,382

2,925

1,138

2002 Q1

4,167

2,737

1,087

2002 Q2

4,117

2,714

1,110

2002 Q3

4,258

2,822

1,146

2002 Q4

4,321

2,872

1,158

2003 Q1

4,701

3,097

1,241

2003 Q2

4,653

3,146

1,255

2003 Q3

4,650

3,098

1,274

2003 Q4

4,808

3,123

1,345

2004 Q1

4,666

2,949

1,417

2004 Q2

4,533

2,811

1,428

2004 Q3

4,470

2,744

1,380

2004 Q4

4,598

2,849

1,404

2005 Q1

4,343

2,681

1,357

2005 Q2

4,342

2,651

1,373

2005 Q3

4,522

2,810

1,373

2005 Q4

4,201

2,604

1,254

2006 Q1

4,090

2,597

1,205

2006 Q2

4,110

2,610

1,162

2006 Q3

4,204

2,679

1,188

2006 Q4

4,243

2,753

1,200

2007 Q1

4,251

2,753

1,193

2007 Q2

4,376

2,859

1,220

2007 Q3

4,502

2,921

1,207

2007 Q4

4,479

2,980

1,220

2008 Q1

4,884

3,315

1,223

2008 Q2

5,349

3,709

1,324

2008 Q3

5,976

4,261

1,454

2008 Q4

7,343

5,422

1,559

2009 Q1

8,662

6,531

1,762

2009 Q2

9,015

6,788

1,937

2009 Q3

8,923

6,719

1,997

2009 Q4

9,064

6,561

2,155

2010 Q1

8,873

6,220

2,310

2010 Q2

8,874

6,202

2,345

2010 Q3

8,858

6,263

2,339

2010 Q4

8,897

5,999

2,477

2011 Q1

8,493

5,748

2,443

2011 Q2

8,578

5,785

2,481

2011 Q3

8,743

5,722

2,665

2011 Q4

8,436

5,580

2,449

2012 Q1

8,047

5,327

2,455

2012 Q2

8,068

5,259

2,525

2012 Q3

8,260

5,346

2,545

2012 Q4

8,108

5,079

2,627

2013 Q1

7,879

5,051

2,594

2013 Q2

8,013

5,051

2,627

2013 Q3

7,997

4,966

2,618

2013 Q4

7,837

4,926

2,559

Notes: Shaded regions represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Turning points are quarterly. Beginning in 1994 (denoted by vertical black line), data are affected by the redesign of the Current Population Survey and are not strictly comparable with data for previous years.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Employment in service occupations rose over the year, accounting for about two of three workers who found employment in 2013. Nearly 1 in 5 employed people were classified in this broad occupational group in the fourth quarter of the year. By comparison, 38 percent of employed people were in management, professional, and related occupations; 23 percent were in sales and office occupations; 12 percent were in production, transportation, and material moving occupations; and another 9 percent were employed in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations. Employment in these occupational groups showed little change over the year.

Women made up 57 percent of workers employed in service occupations in 2013 and comprised a similar share of the over-the-year employment growth in this occupational category. Similar shares of employed women and men were classified in the management, professional, and related occupational group. Employed men were overrepresented in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations and in production, transportation, and material moving jobs. In the fourth quarter of 2013, men accounted for virtually all the people employed in construction and extraction jobs, whereas women accounted for the vast majority of people employed in healthcare support jobs. (See table 5.)

Labor force participation

The civilian labor force declined to 154.9 million in 2013, and the labor force participation rate fell by 0.9 percentage point to 62.8 percent. The labor force participation rate—the proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older that is in the labor force—has been trending downward since reaching a record high in early 2000. The rate of decline steepened during the recent recession and has continued to decline during this recovery. Research has suggested that weak labor market conditions are part of the reason for the decline, as are longer-term demographic factors, such as retiring baby boomers and the easing of growth in the labor force participation of adult women.11 The participation rate dropped by 0.9 percentage point in 2013, compared with a 0.3 percentage point decline in 2012. (See figure 7.)

The labor force participation rates for Blacks and Whites declined in 2013. Among Blacks, the participation rate fell by 1.2 percentage points to 60.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013. The rate for Whites declined to 63.1 percent, while the rate for Hispanics changed little, at 65.8 percent. The labor force participation rate for Asians (64.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted) also showed no statistically significant change over the year. (See table 1.)

As the following tabulation of seasonally adjusted data shows, labor force participation rates and over-the-year percentage-point changes also varied by age:

Age (years)

Fourth quarter, 2012

Fourth quarter, 2013

Change

Total, 16 and older

63.7

62.8

–0.9

16 to 24

55.3

54.8

–.5

16 to 19

34.5

34.0

–.5

20 to 24

71.3

70.5

–.8

25 to 54

81.4

80.8

–.6

25 to 34

81.8

80.9

–.9

35 to 44

82.4

82.0

–.4

45 to 54

80.0

79.4

–.6

55 and older

40.7

40.0

–.7

55 to 64

65.1

64.0

–1.1

65 and older

18.5

18.5

0

The participation rate for those 65 years and older, unchanged at 18.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, has generally been trending up since a recent low (11.8 percent) in 1998. Sensitivity to the business cycle, longer life expectancy, and increased retirement needs have been identified as possible factors for the increased labor force participation among older workers.12 Conversely, the teen (16 to 19 years old) participation rate, little changed at 34.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, has generally been trending down since the series high in 1979. The pace of decline has intensified during recent recessions. Increased school enrollment, poor labor market conditions, and increased job competition from both older workers and recent immigrants have been identified in economic literature as factors that have contributed to the long-term decline in teen labor force participation.13 Among the remaining age groups, participation rates trended downward in 2013.

People not in the labor force

The category “not in the labor force” consists of people who are neither employed nor unemployed. In the fourth quarter of 2013, 91.8 million people were not in the labor force, an increase of 2.8 million from last year (not seasonally adjusted). (See table 6.) All of the increase in those not in the labor force occurred among people who indicated in the survey that they did not want a job. This measure rose by 3.5 million from its level a year earlier to 86.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. Of those who were not in the labor force, about 40 percent were 65 years and older.

Table 6. Number of people not in the labor force, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted, 2009–2013 (in thousands)

(2) Refers to people who want a job, have searched for work during the prior 12 months, and were available to take a job during the reference week but had not looked for work in the past 4 weeks.

(3) Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for reasons such as they thought that no work was available, that they could not find work, that they lacked schooling or training, that their employer would think they were too young or old, and that they would face other types of discrimination.

(4) Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for reasons such as school or family responsibilities, ill health, and transportation problems, as well as a number for whom the reason for nonparticipation was not determined.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

The number of people not in the labor force who wanted a job but were not looking for one declined by 706,000 over the year, to 5.7 million in the fourth quarter, following 5 years of consecutive gains. The share of those not in the labor force made up of these individuals edged down over the year to 6.2 percent.14

Among those who wanted a job but currently were not looking for one, 2.3 million (not seasonally adjusted) had searched for work sometime in the previous year and were available to work had a job been offered to them. These individuals are categorized as “marginally attached to the labor force” and are not counted as unemployed because they had not actively searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.15Among those in this group, some were not currently looking for work specifically because they felt that no jobs were available for them, that they could not find work, that they lacked schooling or training, that an employer would think that they were too young or too old, or that they might face other types of discrimination. This subset of the marginally attached is defined as “discouraged workers.” The number of discouraged workers was 831,000 in the fourth quarter of 2013, down by 122,000 from a year earlier.

The remaining 1.4 million people marginally attached to the labor force in the fourth quarter of 2013 were those who had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance, family responsibilities, health-related issues, and transportation problems, as well as those whose reason for nonparticipation was not identified in the CPS. The number of these individuals also declined over the year.

Alternative measures of labor underutilization

Mirroring the unemployment rate, all five alternative measures of labor underutilization declined in 2013. A number of alternative labor underutilization indicators are constructed from CPS data.16 Known as “U–1,” “U–2,” and “U–4 through U–6” (U–3 is the “official” unemployment rate), these measures tend to show similar cyclical patterns yet provide different perspectives on the degree to which labor resources are underutilized. Like the official unemployment rate, the alternative measures are presented as a percentage of the labor force (adjusted as necessary). U–1 shows the number of individuals unemployed 15 weeks or longer, while U–2 presents job losers and people who completed temporary jobs. U–4 through U–6 are broader than the official unemployment measure: to U–3, U–4 adds in discouraged workers, U–5 adds all people marginally attached to the labor force (including discouraged workers), and U–6 comprises the unemployed, all people marginally attached to the labor force, plus people employed part time for economic reasons.

All five alternative measures fell over the year. By the end of 2013, U–1 and U–2 had each declined by 0.6 percent point and 0.5 percentage point, respectively, to 3.7 percent. Throughout most of the series’ history, U–2 exceeded U–1. However, recently the pattern has changed, reflecting the persistently high levels of long-term unemployment and the declining number of people unemployed because they lost their jobs. In fact, these two measures were the same in 2013. Among the remaining three measures, U–4 had declined to 7.5 percent by the end of 2013, U–5 to 8.3 percent, and U–6 to 13.3 percent. (See figure 9.)

Notes: Shaded regions represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Turning points are quarterly. Measures of labor underutlization are defined as U-1 = people unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percentage of the civilian labor force; U-2 = job losers and people who completed temporary jobs, as a percentage of the civilian labor force; U-3 = total unemployed, as a percentage of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate); U-4 = total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percentage of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers; U-5 = total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other marginally attached workers, as a percentage of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers; U-6 = total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percentage of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Earnings

Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers edged up in 2013, not quite keeping pace with inflation as measured by the CPI-U (Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers). Median weekly earnings were $776 in 2013, up only slightly (1.0 percent) from $768 a year earlier.17 (The data in this section are annual averages.) During the same period, inflation increased by 1.5 percent. The year-to-year change in median weekly earnings was one of the smallest since the series began in 1979. (See table 7.)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey and Consumer Price Index.

While median weekly earnings for women grew by 2.2 percent in 2013, men’s earnings were little changed. The women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio edged up by 1.2 percentage points to 82.1 percent in 2013, following a decline in 2012. The ratio has been in the 81-percent to 82-percent range since 2010. Over time, however, the earnings differences between women and men have narrowed considerably. In 1979, the first year for which comparable data on usual weekly earnings are available, women’s earnings were 62.3 percent of men’s earnings. (See figure 10.)

Among full-time wage and salary workers in the major race and ethnicity groups, median usual weekly earnings continued to be higher for Asians ($942) and Whites ($802) than for Blacks ($629) and Hispanics ($578). (See table 7.)

Educational attainment is a major determinant of earnings. Among workers 25 years and older, those with at least a bachelor’s degree continued to have the highest median weekly earnings, $1,194 in 2013. Workers with some college or an associate’s degree earned $748, and high school graduates with no college education earned $651. Earnings for those with less than a high school diploma, $472, remained the lowest among the major education groups. Of all education groups, workers with at least a bachelor’s degree were the only one to experience an over-the-year increase in median weekly earnings, up $29 or 2.5 percent, in 2013. Earnings for all other major educational attainment groups showed little movement over the year.

Veterans, people with disabilities, and foreign-born workers

In 2013, the unemployment rate for veterans changed little, while the rate for nonveterans continued to decline. In the CPS, veterans are defined as men and women who have previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were civilians at the time of the survey.18 In the fourth quarter of the year, 21.3 million men and women in the civilian noninstitutional population age 18 years and older were veterans. Veterans are more likely than nonveterans to be men and older. In part, this disparity reflects the characteristics of veterans who served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era. Veterans who served during these wars comprised close to one-half of the veteran population. In the fourth quarter of 2013, 3.1 million veterans served during Gulf War–era I (August 1990 to August 2001), and an additional 3.0 million served during Gulf War–era II (September 2001 to present). Veterans who did not serve during designated wartime periods made up another 5.5 million. (See table 8.)

Table 8. Employment status of people 18 years and older, by veteran status, period of service, and gender, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted, 2012–2013 (levels in thousands)

Employment status, veteran status, and period of service

Total

Men

Women

Fourth quarter, 2012

Fourth quarter, 2013

Change, fourth quarter 2012 to fourth quarter 2013

Fourth quarter, 2012

Fourth quarter, 2013

Change, fourth quarter 2012 to fourth quarter 2013

Fourth quarter, 2012

Fourth quarter, 2013

Change, fourth quarter 2012 to fourth quarter 2013

Veterans, 18 years and older

Civilian labor force

10,892

10,847

–45

9,771

9,417

–354

1,120

1,430

310

Participation rate (percent)

51.7

51.0

–.7

50.8

49.4

–1.4

61.5

64.0

2.5

Employed

10,169

10,159

–10

9,153

8,819

–334

1,016

1,341

325

Employment–population ratio

48.3

47.7

–.6

47.6

46.3

–1.3

55.8

60.0

4.2

Unemployed

722

688

–34

618

598

–20

104

90

–14

Unemployment rate (percent)

6.6

6.3

–.3

6.3

6.4

.1

9.3

6.3

–3.0

Gulf War–era II veterans

Civilian labor force

2,101

2,441

340

1,804

1,963

159

296

478

182

Participation rate (percent)

82.6

82.0

–.6

84.8

84.1

–.7

71.1

74.6

3.5

Employed

1,885

2,219

334

1,633

1,779

146

253

440

187

Employment–population ratio

74.1

74.6

.5

76.7

76.2

–.5

60.7

68.7

8.0

Unemployed

215

222

7

172

184

12

43

38

–5

Unemployment rate (percent)

10.2

9.1

–1.1

9.5

9.4

–.1

14.7

7.9

–6.8

Gulf War–era I veterans

Civilian labor force

2,539

2,628

89

2,177

2,218

41

362

410

48

Participation rate (percent)

83.4

84.5

1.1

85.4

86.6

1.2

73.2

74.8

1.6

Employed

2,404

2,472

68

2,072

2,085

13

332

388

56

Employment–population ratio

79.0

79.5

.5

81.3

81.4

.1

67.1

70.7

3.6

Unemployed

136

156

20

105

133

28

30

23

–7

Unemployment rate (percent)

5.3

5.9

.6

4.8

6.0

1.2

8.4

5.5

–2.9

World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam–era veterans

Civilian labor force

2,983

2,749

–234

2,895

2,663

–232

88

86

–2

Participation rate (percent)

30.7

28.4

–2.3

30.8

28.5

–2.3

27.8

23.8

–4.0

Employed

2,810

2,591

–219

2,729

2,510

–219

81

81

0

Employment–population ratio

28.9

26.7

–2.2

29.0

26.9

–2.1

25.6

22.5

–3.1

Unemployed

173

158

–15

166

153

–13

7

5

–2

Unemployment rate (percent)

5.8

5.7

–.1

5.7

5.7

0

7.9

5.8

–2.1

Veterans of other service periods

Civilian labor force

3,269

3,029

–240

2,894

2,574

–320

374

456

82

Participation rate (percent)

56.9

55.1

–1.8

56.2

53.4

–2.8

63.1

66.6

3.5

Employed

3,070

2,877

–193

2,720

2,445

–275

350

432

82

Employment–population ratio

53.4

52.3

–1.1

52.8

50.8

–2.0

59.1

63.1

4

Unemployed

198

152

–46

175

129

–46

24

24

0

Unemployment rate (percent)

6.1

5.0

–1.1

6.0

5.0

–1.0

6.4

5.3

–1.1

Nonveterans, 18 years and older

Civilian labor force

142,503

142,040

–463

71,752

71,896

144

70,751

70,144

–607

Participation rate (percent)

66.6

65.7

–0.9

76.4

75.3

–1.1

58.9

58.0

–.9

Employed

132,016

132,792

776

66,320

66,992

672

65,697

65,800

103

Employment–population ratio

61.7

61.4

–.3

70.6

70.2

–.4

54.7

54.5

–.2

Unemployed

10,487

9,247

–1,240

5,432

4,904

–528

5,055

4,344

–711

Unemployment rate (percent)

7.4

6.5

–.9

7.6

6.8

–.8

7.1

6.2

–.9

Notes: Veterans served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were not on active duty at the time of the survey. Nonveterans never served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. Veterans could have served anywhere in the world during these periods of service: Gulf War–era II (September 2001–present), Gulf War–era I (August 1990–August 2001), Vietnam era (August 1964–April 1975), Korean War (July 1950–January 1955), World War II (December 1941–December 1946), and other service periods (all other periods). Veterans who served in more than one wartime period are classified as being only in the most recent one. Veterans who served during one of the selected wartime periods and another period are classified only in the wartime period. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

The jobless rate for female veterans fell 3.0 percentage points (not seasonally adjusted) to 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013. The rate for male veterans was 6.4 percent in the same quarter, little different from 1 year earlier.

Among Gulf War–era II veterans, the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in the fourth quarter, higher than the overall rate for veterans. This disparity partially reflects the fact that Gulf War–era II veterans tend to be younger than those from other periods of service, and younger workers, regardless of their veteran status, usually have higher jobless rates than those who are older. The rate for female Gulf War–era II veterans fell by 6.8 percentage points over the year to 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013. The rate for male Gulf War–era II veterans (9.4 percent) was about unchanged from the prior year.

The labor force participation rate for people with a disability declined over the year, while their jobless rate was unchanged. The labor force participation rate for people with a disability decreased 1.5 percentage points to 19.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013. The rate for those without a disability also declined but remained more than three times higher, at 68.5 percent. (See table 9.) The low labor force participation rate among people with a disability is partly because a large proportion of this group is 65 years and older, an age group that, in general, has a lower rate of labor force participation. However, both men and women 16 to 64 years old with a disability also were much less likely to be in the labor force than were their counterparts with no disability. Among men with a disability ages 16 to 64, the participation rate declined over the year by 2.9 percentage points to 32.1 percent; the rate for women changed little (28.7 percent).

Notes: A person with a disability has at least one of the following conditions: is deaf or has serious difficulty hearing; is blind or has serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses; has serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition; has serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs; has difficulty dressing or bathing; or has difficulty doing errands alone, such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

The unemployment rate for people with a disability was unchanged over the year, at 12.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013. Among workers with a disability, the unemployment rate for those 65 years and older declined by 2.2 percentage points to 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter, while the rates for men and women ages 16 to 64 changed little. By comparison, among those with no disability, the unemployment rates for men and women ages 16 to 64 and for workers 65 years and older declined over the year.

Both foreign-born and native-born individuals experienced a decline in their jobless rates in 2013. By the end of the year, the unemployment rate for the foreign born was 6.4 percent, while that for the native born was 6.7 percent. (See table 10.) The foreign born are people who reside in the United States but were born outside the country or outside one of its outlying areas, such as Puerto Rico or Guam, to parents who were not U.S. citizens. The foreign born comprise legally admitted immigrants; refugees; temporary residents, such as students and temporary workers; and undocumented immigrants.

Notes: The foreign born are those residing in the United States who were not U.S. citizens at birth. That is, they were born outside the United States or one of its outlying areas, such as Puerto Rico or Guam, to parents who were not U.S. citizens. The native born are people who were born in the United States or one of its outlying areas, such as Puerto Rico or Guam or who were born abroad of at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

The foreign born made up 16 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force in the fourth quarter of 2013. The labor force participation rate of the foreign born, at 65.9 percent in the fourth quarter, was little changed over the year, while that for the native born declined by 0.9 percentage point to 62.2 percent. Among the foreign born, the participation rate for men was up over the year (78.7 percent), while the rate for women declined to 53.9 percent. Foreign-born men continued to be more likely to participate in the labor force than native-born men in 2013, at 78.7 percent and 67.3 percent, respectively. By contrast, native-born women (57.4 percent) were more likely to be labor force participants than women who were foreign born (53.9 percent).

CPS DATA INDICATE continued gradual improvement in the U.S. labor market in 2013 in most major unemployment and employment measures. Both the number of unemployed and the unemployment rate fell over the year, with much of the improvement occurring among women. However, the proportion of the unemployed that was jobless for long periods continued to be high by historical standards. Employment, as measured by the CPS, expanded over the year, yet the pace of growth was notably slower than the increase in each of the prior 2 years. Among the employed, adult women saw a larger gain in employment than adult men for the second consecutive year, accounting for nearly three-fifths of the gains in 2013. In addition, the number of people employed part time for economic reasons declined in 2013 but remained at historically high levels. The labor force participation rate continued to decline over the year. The modest increase in median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers did not keep pace with inflation and ranks among the smallest increase in earnings since the inception of the series more than three decades ago.

Notes

1 The data in this article are based on information collected in the Current Population Survey (CPS)—also called the household survey—a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households nationwide that the U.S. Census Bureau conducts for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Although the CPS is a monthly survey, the data analyzed throughout the article are seasonally adjusted quarterly averages, unless otherwise noted. All over-the-year changes are comparisons of fourth-quarter data from 2012 with fourth-quarter data from 2013. Effective with the data for January 2013, updated population estimates were used in the household survey. Each year, the Census Bureau updates the population estimates to reflect new information and assumptions about the growth of the population during the decade. In accordance with usual practice, BLS did not revise the official household survey estimates for December 2012 and earlier months. For additional information on the population adjustments and their effect on national labor force estimates, see “Adjustments to Household Survey Population Estimates in January 2013” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2013), http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps13adj.pdf.

2 People whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. About 90 percent of people of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity identify themselves as White race in the CPS.

3 The National Bureau of Economic Research determines the beginning and ending dates of recessions. The most recent recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. Turning points for recessions are quarterly in this analysis.

4 Unemployment rates by occupation are based on the last job an individual held. Excluded are unemployed people who have no previous work experience.

5 The duration of joblessness is the length of time (through the current reference week) that people classified as unemployed have been looking for work. This measure refers to the duration of the current spell of unemployment, rather than to that of a completed spell.

6 For additional information, see Thomas Luke Spreen, “Ranks of those unemployed for a year or more up sharply,” Issues in Labor Statistics, Summary 10–10 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, October 2010), www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils87.pdf.

8 Effective with the data for January 2013, updated population estimates were used in the household survey. Each year, the Census Bureau updates the population estimates to reflect new information and assumptions about the growth of the population during the decade. In accordance with usual practice, the BLS did not revise the official household survey estimates for December 2012 and earlier months. For additional information on the population adjustments and their effect on national labor force estimates, see “Adjustments to Household Survey Population Estimates in January 2013” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2013), http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps13adj.pdf.

14 “People not in the labor force who want a job” are a measure of people who reported wanting a job without having necessarily looked for one; conceptually, this group includes all people who reported that they currently want a job.

15 For additional analysis of people marginally attached to the labor force, see Sharon Cohany, “Ranks of discouraged workers and others marginally attached to the labor force rise during recession,” Issues in Labor Statistics, Summary 09–04 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2009), http://www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils74.pdf.

16 For further information, see Steven E. Haugen, “Measures of labor underutilization from the current population survey,” Working Paper 424 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009), www.bls.gov/osmr/pdf/ec090020.pdf.

17 Data on earnings are collected from one-fourth of the CPS sample each month and are limited to wage and salary workers. Self-employed workers, both incorporated and unincorporated, are excluded from CPS earnings estimates, and as such, self-employment income is not considered. Importantly, note that the comparisons of earnings are on a broad level and do not control for many factors that can be significant in explaining earnings differences.

18 Veterans who served in more than one wartime period are classified into only the most recent one.